Haaretz Poll on Netanyahu: Why Ask Why?

From the people who brought you accusations against the IDF from people who weren't there, comes the survey about Netanyahu that doesn't ask why they said what they said--Haaretz poll: 54% of public dissatisfied with new government

...perhaps because it has so many ministers and deputy ministers, or because so many of them have dubious portfolios.

The problem could also be the friction that accompanied the government's formation; two key cabinet members are suffering embarrassingly low support ratings.

Haaretz seems to be hardpressed to push their point. On the one hand, they compare Yuval Steinitz and Avigdor Lieberman:

 The result is that two leading ministers have poor approval ratings their first day in office.

This after having already admiting:

Finance Minister Steinitz received 22 percent in his favor, compared with 27 percent against. More than half the respondents said they simply do not know what they think of him - they do not know who Steinitz is.[emphasis added]

Then again, after less than 24 hours--how much do those polled know about how Netanyahu is going to pursue his agenda?

David Hazony notes the unusual degree of vagueness in the poll in general about just what it is that those polled are dissatisfied about:

In fact, there is no indication whether the dissatisfaction is coming from the Left or the Right, or both, or neither. As Shmuel Rosner pointed out, Netanyahu is steering his Right-heavy electorate towards dead center, at least as far as his opening-day rhetoric indicates. Nor does Haaretz mention whether dissatisfaction with the new government reflects opposition to its policies. With the media on the attack before Netanyahu has done anything, it’s not even clear whether 54 percent is a large number or, as we may suspect given the tone of Israeli public discourse, a pretty small one.

Apparently, according to Haaretz the 'grace period' given to Netanyahu is the amount of time it takes to bentsch.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Technorati Tag: Netanyahu and Bibi and Haaretz and Media Bias.